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Sundry Pirates and Their Booty: Blackbeard

SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 401 to bury at least one sea-chest full of treasure in or-der to live up to the best traditions of his calling. He was prosperous, and unlike most of his lesser brethren, suffered no low tides of fortune. By rights, he should be a far more famous character than Captain William Kidd whose commonplace career was so signally devoid of purple patches. Blackbeard was a pirate "right out of a book," as the saying is. How this Captain Edward Teach swaggered through the streets of Charleston and terrorized the Carolinas and Bermuda is an old story, as is also the thrilling narrative of his capture, after a desperate battle, by brave Lieutenant Maynard, who hung the pirate's head from his bowsprit and sailed home in triumph. There are touches here and there, however, in the authentic biography of Blackbeard which seem to belong in a discussion of buried treasure, for he was so very much the kind of flamboyant rogue that legend paints as infernally busy with pick and shovel on dark and lonely beaches. Blackbeard is the hero of such extremely diverting tales as these, which sundry writers have not scrupled to appropriate, either for purposes of fiction or unblushingly to fit them to poor Captain Kidd as chronicles of fact: "In the commonwealth of pirates, he who goes the greatest length of wickedness is looked upon with a kind of envy amongst them, as a person of a most extraordinary gallantry. He is therefore en-titled to be distinguished by some post, and if such a one has but courage, he must certainly be a great man. The hero of whom we are writing was thoroughly accomplished in this way, and some of his frolics of wickedness were as extravagant as if he aimed at making his men believe he was a devil in- 402 THE. BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE carnate. Being one day, at sea, and a little flushed with drink; 'Come,' said he, `let us make a hell of our own, and try how long we can bear it.' Accordingly he, with two or three others, went down into the hold, and closing up all the hatches, filled several pots full of brimstone, and other combustible mat-ter. They then set it on fire, and so continued till they were almost suffocated, when some of the men cried out for air. At length he opened the hatches, not a little pleased that he had held out the longest. "One night, Blackbeard, drinking in his cabin with Israel Hands,4 and the pilot, and another man, with-out any pretense took a small pair of pistols, and cocked them under the table. Which being perceived by the man, he went on deck, leaving the captain, Hands, and the pilot together. When his pistols were prepared, he extinguished the candle, crossed his arms and fired at the company, under the table. The one pistol did no execution, but the other wounded Hands in the knee. Interrogated concerning the meaning of this, he answered with an imprecation, `That if he did not now and then kill one of them, they would forget who he was.' " "In Blackbeard's journal, which was taken, there were several memoranda of the following nature, all written with his own hand.'Such a day, rum all out;our company somewhat sober;a damned confusion amongst us! rogues a-plotting;great talk of separation;so I looked sharp for a prize; 4 Israel Hands was tried and condemned with Blackbeard's crew, but was pardoned by royal proclamation, and, recording to Captain Johnson, "was alive some time ago in London, begging his bread." This would indicate that he had buried no treasure of his own, and had not fathomed Blackboard's secret. Stevenson borrowed the name of Israel Hands for one of his crew of pirates in "Treasure Island."' SUNDRY PIRATES AND. THEIR BOOTY 403 such a day took one with a great deal of liquor on board ; so kept the company hot, damned hot, then all things went well again.' " "Blackbeard derived his name from his long black beard, which, like a frightful meteor, covered his whole face, and terrified all America more than any comet that has ever appeared. He was accustomed to twist it with ribbon in small quantities, and turn them about his ears. In time of action he wore a sling over his shoulder with three braces of pistols. He stuck lighted matches under his hat, which appearing on both sides of his face and eyes, naturally fierce and wild, made him such a figure that the human imagination cannot form a conception of a fury more terrible and alarming." 6 In the best account of his melodramatic exit from the life which he had adorned with so much distinction, there is a reference to buried treasure that must be set down as a classic of its kind. "Upon the 17th of November, 1717, Lieutenant Maynard left James's River in quest of Blackbeard. and on the evening of the 21st came in sight of the pirate. This expedition was fitted out with all possible secrecy, no boat being permitted to pass that might convey any intelligence, while care was taken to discover where the pirates were lurking. . . . The hardened and infatuated pirate, having been often deceived by false intelligence, was the less attentive, nor was he convinced of his danger until he saw the sloops sent to apprehend him. Though he had then only twenty men on board, he prepared to give battle. Lieutenant Maynard arrived with his sloops in the evening and anchored, as he could not 5 The Pirates' Own Book. 404 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE venture, under cloud of night, to go into the place where Blackbeard lay. "The latter spent the night in drinking with the master of a trading vessel, with the same indifference as if no danger had been near. Nay, such was the desperate wickedness of this villain, that, it is reported, during the carousals of that night, one of his men asked him, `In case anything should happen to him during the engagement with the two sloops which were waiting to attack him in the morning, whether his wife knew where he had buried his money' To this he impiously replied, `That no-body but himself and the devil knew where it was, and the longest liver should take all.' "In the morning Maynard weighed, and sent his boat to take soundings, which, coming near the pi-rate, received her fire. Maynard then hoisted royal colors, and directly toward Blackbeard with every sail and oar. In a little while the pirate ran aground, and so did the king's vessels. Maynard lightened his vessel of the ballast and water and made towards Blackbeard. Upon this, the pirate hailed in his own rude style. `Damn you for villains, who are you, and from whence come your' The lieutenant answered, `You may see from our colors we are no pirates.' Blackbeard bade him send his boat on board, that he might see who he was. But Maynard replied, 'I cannot spare my boat, but I will come on board of you as soon as I can with my sloop.' Upon this Blackbeard took a glass of liquor and drank to him, saying, `I'll give no quarter nor take any from you.' Maynard replied, `He expected no quarter from him, nor should he take any.' " 6 e This is from The Pirates' Own Book. Captain Johnson's version is unexpurgated and to be preferred, for he declares that Black- SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 405 It is to be presumed that the devil fell heir to Blackbeard's treasure, inasmuch as Lieutenant Maynard and his men fairly cut the pirate and his crew to pieces. Turn we now from such marauders as this to that greater generation of buccaneers, so called, who harried the Spanish treasure fleets and towns in the West Indies and on the coasts of the Isthmus and South and Central America. During the period when Port Royal, Jamaica, was the head-quarters and recruiting station for these picturesque cut-throats, and Sir Henry Morgan was their bright, particular star, there is the testimony of an eye-witness and participant to show that the blood-stained gold seldom tarried long enough with its owners to permit of burying it, and that they bothered their wicked heads very little about safeguarding the future. Captain Bartholomew Roberts, that "tall, black man, nearly forty years old, whose favorite toast was `Damnation to him who ever lives to wear a halter,' " was snuffed out in an action with a King's ship, and the manner of his life and melodramatic quality of his death suggest that he be mentioned herein as worthy of a place beside Blackbeard him-self. Roberts has been overlooked by buried treasure legend, and this is odd, for he was a figure to inspire such tales. His flamboyant career opened in 1719 and was successful until the British man-of-war Swallow overhauled him on the African coast. His biographer, Captain Charles Johnson, writing while the episode was less than a decade old and when the facts were readily obtainable, left us this fine picture of the fight : beard cried out, "Damnation seize my soul if I give you quarter, or take any from you." 406 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE "Roberts himself made a gallant figure at the time of the engagement, being dressed in a rich crimson damask waistcoat and breeches, a red feather in his hat, a gold chain round his neck, with a diamond cross hanging to it, a sword in his hand, and two pair of pistols hanging at the end of a silk sling flung over his shoulder (according to the fashion of the pirates). He is said to have given his orders with boldness and spirit; coming, according to what he had purposed, close to the man of war, received her fire, and then hoisted his black flag 7 and returned it; shooting away from her with all the sail he could pack. . . . But keeping his tacks down, either by the wind's shifting or ill steer-age, or both, he was taken aback with his sails, and the Swallow came a second time very nigh to him. He had now perhaps finished the fight very desperately if Death, who took a swift passage in a grape-shot, had not interposed and struck him directly on the throat. "He settled himself on the tackles of a gun, which one Stephenson from the helm, observing, ran to his assistance, and not perceiving him wounded, swore at him and bid him stand up like a man. But when he found his mistake, and that Captain Roberts was certainly dead, he gushed into tears and wished the next shot might be his lot. They presently threw him overboard, with his arms and ornaments on, ac-cording to the repeated requests he had made in his life." 7 As showing the fanciful tastes in sinister flags, Captain Johnson records that Captain Roberts flew "a black silk flag at the mizzen peak, and a jack and pendant at the same. The flag had a death's head on it, with an hour glass in one hand, and cross bones in the other, a dart by one, and underneath a heart dropping three drops of blood."

SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 407 There was no treasure for the stout-hearted scoundrels who were captured by the Swallow. They had diced with fortune and lost, and Execution Dock was waiting for them, but they are worth a passing acquaintance and it gives one a certain satisfaction to learn that "they were impudently merry, saying when they viewed their nakedness, `That they had not one half penny left to give old Charon to ferry them over the Styx,' and at their thin commons they would observe that they fell away so fast that they should not have weight enough to hang them. Sutton used to be very profane, and he happening to be in the same irons with another prisoner who was more serious than ordinary and read and prayed often, as became his condition, this man Sutton used to swear and ask him, `What he proposed by so much noise and devotion V' Heaven, I hope,' says the other. 'Heaven, you fool,' says Sutton, `Did you ever hear of any pirate going thither l Give me Hell. It is a merrier place. I'll give Roberts a salute of thirteen guns at entrance.' " After Morgan had sacked the rich city of Porto Bello, John Esquemeling wrote of the expedition: 8 "With these (ships) he arrived in a few days at the Island of Cuba, where he sought out a place wherein with all quiet and repose he might make the dividend of the spoil they had got. They found in ready money two hundred and fifty thousand pieces of eight, besides all other merchandises, as cloth, 8 The Buccaneers of America. A True Account of the Most Remarkable Assaults Committed of Late Years Upon the Coasts of the West Indies by the Buccaneers of Jamaica and Tortuga (Both English and French). Wherein are contained more especially the Unparalleled Exploits of Sir Henry Morgan, our English Jamaican hero who sacked Porto Bello, burnt Panama, etc. (Published in 1684.) 408 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE linen, silks, and other goods. With this rich booty they sailed again thence to their common place of rendezvous, Jamaica. Being arrived, they passed here some time in all sorts of vices and debauchery, according to their common manner of doing, spending with huge prodigality what others had gained with no small labor and toil." ". . . Such of these Pirates are found who will spend two or three thousand pieces of eight in one night, not leaving themselves, peradventure, a good shirt to wear on their backs in the morning. My own master would buy, on like occasions, a whole pipe of wine, and placing it in the street, would force everyone that passed by to drink with him; threatening also to pistol them in case they would not do it. At other times, he would do the same with barrels of ale or beer. And, very often, with both his hands, he would throw these liquors about the streets and wet the clothes of such as walked by, without regarding whether he spoiled their apparel or not, were they men or women. "Among themselves, and to each other, these Pi-rates are extremely liberal and free. If any one of them has lost his goods, which often happens in their manner of life, they freely give him, and make him partaker of what they have. In taverns and ale-houses they always have great credit ; but in such houses at Jamaica they ought not to run very deep in debt, seeing the inhabitants of that island easily sell one another for debt. Thus it happened to my patron, or master, to be sold for a debt of a tavern wherein he had spent the greater part of his money. This man had, within the space of three months before, three thousand pieces of eight in ready cash, all which he wasted in that short SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 409 space of time, and became as poor as I have told you.,, The same free-handed and lurid manner of life prevailed on the little island of Tortuga, off the coast of Hayti, where the French and English buccaneers had a lawless kingdom of their own. In his account of the career of the infamous L '011onais, Esquemeling goes on to say : `Departing therefore thence, they took their course towards the island Hispaniola, and arrived thither in eight days, casting anchor in a port called Isla de la Vaca, or Cow Island. This isle is inhabited by French buccaneers 9 who most commonly sell the flesh they hunt to Pirates and others who now and then put in there with intent of victualing or trading with them. Here they unladed the whole cargo of riches which they had robbed ; the usual storehouse of the Pirates being commonly under the shelter of the buccaneers. Here also they made a dividend amongst them of all of their prizes and gains, according to that order and degree which belonged to everyone. Having cast up the account and made exact calculation of all they had purchased, they found in ready money two hundred and three-score thousand pieces of eight. Whereupon, this being divided, everyone received to his share in money, and also in pieces of silk, linen and other commodities, the value of above hundred pieces of 9 The buccaneers derived their name from the process of drying beef over a wood fire, or boucane in French. They were at first hunters of wild cattle in the island of Hispaniola or Hayti who disposed of their product to smugglers, traders, and pirates, but they were a distinct class from the filibustiers or sea rovers. As cattle became scarce and the Spanish more hostile and cruel foes, the buccaneers, French and English, forsook their trade and took to the sea, to harry the common foe. 410 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE eight. Those who had been wounded in this expedition received their part before all the rest; I mean such recompenses as I spoke of the first Book, for the loss of their limbs which many sustained." "Afterwards they weighed all the plate that was uncoined, reckoning after the rate of ten pieces of eight for every pound. The jewels were prized with much variety, either at too high or too low rates; being thus occasioned by their own ignorance. This being done, everyone was put to his oath again, that he had not concealed anything nor subtracted from the common stock. Hence they proceeded to the dividend of what shares belonged to such as were dead amongst them, either in battle or otherwise. These shares were given to their friends to be kept entire for them, and to be delivered in due time to their nearest relatives, or whomsoever should appear to be their lawful heirs. "The whole dividend being entirely finished, they set sail thence for the Isle of Tortuga. Here they arrived one month after, to the great joy of most that were upon the island. For as to the common Pirates, in three weeks they had scarce any money left them; having spent it all in things of little value, or at play either at cards or dice. Here also arrived, not long before them, two French ships laden with wine and brandy and other things of this 10 The schedule thus referred to stipulated that for the crew, except the officers specified, it was a case of "no prey, no pay." For the loss of a right arm, the consolation money was 'six hundred pieces of eight, or six slaves; for the loss of a left arm, five hundred pieces of eight, or five slaves; for the left leg, four hundred pieces of eight, or four slaves; for an eye one hundred pieces of eight, or one slave; for a finger of the hand the same reward as for the eye. "All which sums of money, as I have said before, are taken out of the capital sum or common stock of what is got by their piracy." SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 411 kind; whereby these liquors, at the arrival of the Pirates, were sold indifferent cheap. But this lasted not long; for soon after they were enhanced extremely, a gallon of brandy being sold for four pieces of eight. The Governor of the island bought of the Pirates the whole cargo of the ship laden with cacao, giving them for that rich commodity scarce the twentieth part of what it was worth. Thus they made shift to lose and spend the riches they had got in much less time than they were purchased by robbing. The taverns, according to the custom of Pi-rates, got the greatest part thereof ; insomuch that soon after they were constrained to seek more by the same unlawful means they had obtained the pre-ceding." Morgan himself buried none of his vast treasure, although legend persists in saying so, nor did he waste it in riotous living. From the looting of Panama alone he took booty to the value of two million dollars as his share, and he had no need to hide it. He was thought so well of in England that Charles II knighted him, and he was appointed Commissary of the Admiralty. For some time he lived in England, published his Voyage to Panama in 1683, and spent his remaining years in Jamaica as an opulent and influential person in high favor with the ruling powers, and a terror to the luckless, beggared comrades who had helped him win his fortune. As governor of the island he hanged as many as he could lay hands on, a kind of ingratitude not at all inconsistent with the traits of character he had displayed as a pirate. He did not hesitate to rob his own men, according to Esquemeling from whose narrative of the great expedition against Panama the following paragraphs are taken as 412 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE indicative of the methods of this great freebooter of the Spanish Main : "Not long after Captain Morgan arrived at Jamaica, he found many of his chief officers and soldiers reduced to their former state of indigence through their immoderate vices and debauchery. Hence they ceased not to importune him for new invasions and exploits, thereby to get something to expend anew in wine, as they had already wasted what was secured so little before. Captain Morgan being willing to follow fortune while she called him, hereupon stopped the mouths of many of the inhabitants of Jamaica, who were creditors to his men for large sums of money, with the hopes and promises he gave them of greater achievements than ever, by a new expedition he was going about. This being done, he needed not give himself much concern to levy men for this or any other enterprise, his name being now so famous through all those islands that that alone would readily bring him in more men than he could readily employ. He undertook therefore to equip a new fleet of ships; for which purpose he assigned the south side of the Isle of Tortuga as a place of rendezvous. With this resolution he wrote divers letters to all the ancient and expert Pirates there inhabiting, as also to the Governor of the said Isle, and to the planters and hunters of Hispaniola, giving them to understand his intentions, and desiring their appearance at the said place, in case they intended to go with him. All these people had no sooner understood his designs than they flocked to the place assigned in huge numbers, with ships, ca-noes, and boats, being desirous to obey his commands. . . . Thus all were present at the place SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 413 assigned, and in readiness, against the 24th day of October, 1670." Special articles of agreement for the division of the treasure of Panama were drawn up by Morgan before his fleet sailed. "Herein it was stipulated that he should have the hundredth part of all that was gotten to himself alone : That every captain should draw the shares of eight men, for the expenses of his ship, besides his own : That the surgeon, besides his ordinary pay, should have two hundred pieces of eight, for his chest of medicine: And every carpenter, above his common salary, should draw one hundred pieces of eight. Lastly, unto him that in any battle should signalize himself, either by entering the first any castle, or taking down the Spanish colors and setting up the English, they constituted fifty pieces of eight for a reward. In the head of these articles it was stipulated that all these extraordinary salaries, recompenses and re-wards should be paid out of the first spoil or purchase they should take, according as every one should then occur to be either rewarded or paid." The expedition was a gorgeous success, for "on the 24th of February, of the year 1671, Captain Morgan departed from the city of Panama, or rather from the place where the said city of Panama had stood; of the spoils whereof he carried with him one hundred and seventy-five beasts of carriage, laden with silver, gold and other precious things, besides six hundred prisoners, more or less, between men, women, children and slaves. . . About the middle of the way to the castle of Chagre, Captain Morgan commanded his men to be placed in due order, according to their custom, and caused every 414 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE one to be sworn that they liad reserved nor concealed nothing privately to themselves, even not so much as the value of sixpence. This being done, Captain Morgan, having had some experience that those lewd fellows would not much stickle to swear falsely in points of interest, he commanded every one to be searched very strictly both in their clothes and satchels and everywhere it might be presumed they had reserved anything. Yea, to the intent this order might not be ill taken by his companions, he permitted himself to be searched, even to the very soles of his shoes. To this office, by common con-sent, there was assigned one out of every company to be the searcher of all the rest. The French Pi-rates that went on this expedition with Captain Morgan were not well satisfied with this new custom of searching. "From Chagre, Captain Morgan sent presently after his arrival a great boat to Porto Bello, wherein were all the prisoners he had taken at the Isle of St. Catharine, demanding by them a considerable ransom for the castle of Chagre, where he then was, threatening otherwise to ruin and demolish it even to the ground. To this message those of Porto Bello made answer: That they would not give one farthing towards the ransom of the said castle, and that the English might do with it as they pleased. The answer being come, the dividend was made of all the spoil they had purchased in that voyage. Thus every company and every particular person therein included, received their portion of what was got; or rather, what part thereof Captain Morgan was pleased to give them. For so it was, that the rest of his companions, even of his own nation, complained of his proceedings in this particular, and SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 415 feared not to tell him openly to his face that he had reserved the best jewels to himself. For they judged it impossible that no greater share should belong to them than two hundred pieces of eight per capita, of so many valuable booties and robberies as they had obtained. Which small sum they thought too little reward for so much labor and such huge and manifest dangers as they had so often ex-posed their lives to. But Captain Morgan was deaf to all these and many other complaints of this kind, having designed in his mind to cheat them of as much as he could. "At last, Captain Morgan finding himself obnoxious to many obloquies and detractions among his people, began to fear the consequences thereof, and hereupon thinking it unsafe to remain any longer time at Chagre, he commanded the ordnance of the said castle to be carried on board his ship. After-wards he caused the greatest part of the walls to be demolished, and the edifices to be burnt, and as many other things spoiled and ruined as could conveniently be done in a short while. These orders being performed, he went secretly on board his own ship, without giving any notice of his departure to his companions, nor calling any council, as he used to do. Thus he set sail and put out to sea, not bidding any-body adieu, being only followed by three or four vessels of the whole fleet. "These were such (as the French Pirates believed) as went shares with Captain Morgan, to-wards the best and greatest part of the spoil which had been concealed from them in the dividend. The Frenchmen could very willingly have revenged this affront upon Captain Morgan and those that followed him, had they found themselves with suffi- 416 THE. BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE cient means to encounter him at sea. But they were destitute of most things necessary thereto. Yea, they had much ado to find sufficient victuals and pro-visions for their voyage to Panama, he having left them totally unproVided of all things." Esquemeling's commentary on this base conduct of the leader is surprisingly pious : "Captain Morgan left us all in such a miserable condition as might serve for a lively representation of what reward attends wickedness at the latter end of life. Whence we ought to have learned how to regulate and amend our actions for the future." Sir Francis Drake, "sea king of the sixteenth century," the greatest admiral of the time, belongs not with the catalogue of pirates and buccaneers, yet he left a true tale of buried treasure among his exploits and it is highly probable that some of that rich plunder is hidden to-day in the steaming jungle of the road he took to Panama. There were only forty-eight Englishmen in the band which he led on the famous raid to ambush the Spanish treasure train bound to Nombre-de-Dios, a century before Morgan's raiders crossed the Isthmus. This first attempt resulted in failure, but after sundry ad-ventures, Drake returned and hid his little force close by that famous treasure port of Nombre-de-Dios, where they waited to hear the bells of the pack-mule caravan moving along the trail from Panama. It was at dawn when this distant, tinkling music was first heard, and the Cimaroons, or Indian guides, were jubilant. "Now they assured us we should have more Gold and Silver than all of us could bear away." Soon the Englishmen had glimpses of three royal treasure trains plodding along the leafy road, one of fifty mules, the others SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 417 of seventy each, and every one of them laden with three hundred pounds weight of silver bullion, or thirty tons in all. The guard of forty-five Spanish soldiers loafed carelessly in front and rear, their guns slung on their backs. Drake and his bold seamen poured down from a hill, put the guard to flight, and captured the caravan with the loss of only two men. There was more plunder than they could carry back to their ships in a hasty retreat, and "being weary, they were content with a few bars and quoits of gold." The silver was buried in the expectation of returning for it later, "partly in the burrows which the great land-crabs have made in the earth, and partly under old trees which are fallen thereabouts, and partly in the sand and gravel of a river not very deep of water." Then began a forced march, every man burdened with all the treasure he could carry, and behind them the noise of "both horse and foot coming, as it seemed, to the mules." Presently a wounded French captain became so exhausted that he had to drop out, refusing to delay the march and telling the company that he would remain behind in the woods with two of his men, "in hope that some rest would recover his better strength." Ere long an-other Frenchman was missed, and investigation discovered that he had "drunk much wine," and doubtless desired to sleep it off. Reaching Rio Francisco, Drake was dismayed to find his pinnaces gone, and his party stranded. The vessels were recovered after delay and perilous ad-venture, whereupon Drake hastened to prepare another expedition "to get intelligence in what case the country stood, and if might be, recover Monsieur 418 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE Tetu, the French captain, and leastwise bring away the buried silver." The party was just about to start inland when on the beach appeared one of the two men who had stayed behind with the French captain. At sight of Drake he "fell down on his knees, blessing God for the time that ever our Captain was born, who now beyond all his hope, was become his deliverer." He related that soon after they had been left behind in the forest, the Spaniards had captured Captain Tetu and the other man. He himself had escaped by throwing down his treasure and taking to his heels. Concerning the buried silver, he had lamentable tidings to impart. The Spanish had got wind of it, and he "thought there had been near two thousand Spaniards and Negroes there to dig and search for it." However, the expedition pushed forward, and the news was confirmed. "The earth every way a mile distant had been digged and turned up in every place of any likelihood to have anything hidden in it." It was learned that the general lo-cation of the silver had been divulged to the Spaniards by that rascally Frenchman who had got drunk and deserted during the march to the coast. He had been caught while asleep, and the soldiers from Nombre-de-Dios tortured him until he told all that he knew about the treasure. The Englishmen poked around and quickly found "thirteen bars of silver and some few quoits of gold," with which they posted back to Rio Francisco, not daring to linger in the neighborhood of an overwhelming force of the enemy. It was their belief that the Spanish recovered by no means all of those precious tons of silver bullion, and Drake made sail very reluctantly. It may well be that a SUNDRY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY 419 handsome hoard still awaits the search of some modern argonauts, or that the steam shovels of the workmen of the Panama canal may sometime swing aloft a burden of "bars of silver and quoits of gold" in their mighty buckets. Certain it is that Sir Francis Drake is to be numbered among that romantic company of sea rovers of other days who buried vast treasure upon the Spanish Main. CHAPTER %VI PRACTICAL HINTS FOR TREASURE SEEKERS FAITH, imagination, and a vigorous physique comprise the essential equipment of a treasure seeker. Capital is desirable, but not absolutely necessary, for it would be hard indeed to find a neighborhood in which some legend or other of buried gold is not current. If one is unable to finance an expedition aboard a swift, black-hulled schooner, it is always possible to dig for the treasure of poor Captain Kidd and it is really a matter of small importance that he left no treasure in his wake. The zest of the game is in seeking. A pick and a shovel are to be obtained in the wood-shed or can be purchased at the nearest hardware store for a modest outlay. A pirate's chart is to be highly esteemed, but if the genuine article cannot be found, there are elderly seafaring men in every port who will furnish one just as good and perjure themselves as to the information thereof with all the cheerfulness in the world. It has occurred to the author that a concise di-rectory of the best-known lost and buried treasure might be of some service to persons of an adventurous turn of mind, and the following tabloid guide for ready reference may perhaps prove helpful, particularly to parents of small boys who have designs on pirate hoards, as well as to boys who have never grown up. Cocos Island. In the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Costa Rica. Twelve million dollars in plate, coin, bar gold, and jewels buried by buccaneers and by sea-men who pirated the treasure of Lima. Trinidad. In the South Atlantic off the coast of Brazil. The vast booty of sea-rovers who plundered the richest cities of South America. A very delectable and well-authenticated treasure, indeed, with all the proper charts and appurtenances. Specially recommended. The Salvages. A group of small islands to the southward of Madeira. Two million dollars of silver in chests, buried by the crew of a Spanish ship in 1804. They killed their captain and laid him on top of the treasure, wherefore proper precautions must be taken to,appease his ghost before beginning to dig. Cape St. Vincent. West coast of Madagascar. The wreck of a Dutch-built ship of great age is jammed fast between the rocks. Gold and silver money has been washed from her and cast up on the beach, and a large fortune still remains among her timbers. Expeditions are advised to fit out at Mozambique. Venanguebe Bay, thirty-five miles south south-west of Ngoncy Island on the east coast of Madagascar. A sunken treasure is supposed to be not far from the wreck of the French frigate Gloire lost in 1761. Expeditions will do well to keep a weather eye lifted along all this coast for the treasures of the pirates who infested these waters in the days of Captain Kidd. Gough Island, sometimes called Diego Alvarez. Latitude 40 19' S. Longitude 9 44' W. It is well known that on this unfrequented bit of sea-washed real estate, a very wicked pirate or pirates deposited 422 THE BOOK OE BURIED TREASURE ill-gotten gains. The place to dig is close to a conspicuous spire or pinnacle of stone on the western end of the island, the name of which natural land-mark is set down on the charts as Church Rock. Juan Fernandez. South Pacific. Famed as the abode of Robinson Crusoe who was too busy writing the story of his life to find the buccaneer's wealth concealed in a cave, also the wreck of a Spanish galleon reputed to have been laden with bullion from the mines of Peru. Auckland Islands. Remote and far to the south-ward and hardly to be recommended to the amateur treasure seeker who had better serve his apprentice-ship nearer home. Frequently visited by expeditions from Melbourne and Sydney. In 1866, the sailing ship General Grant, bound from Australia to London, was lost here. In her cargo were fifty thousand ounces of gold. In a most extraordinary manner the vessel was driven by the seas into a great cavern in the cliff from which only a handful of her people managed to escape. They lived for eighteen months on this desert island before being taken off. The hulk of the General Grant is still within the cave, but the undertow and the great combers have thus far baffled the divers. Luzon. One of the Philippine Islands. Near Calumpit, in the swamps of the Rio Grande, the Chinese Mandarin, Chan Lee Suey, buried his incalculable wealth soon after the British captured Manila in 1762. His jewels were dazzling, and a string of pearls, bought from the Sultan of Sulu, was said to be the finest in the Orient. Nightingale Island. Near Tristan da Cunha. South Atlantic. One chest of pirate's silver was found here and brought to the United States, but much more is said to remain hidden. Tobermory Bay. Island of Mull. Western Scot-land. Wreck of the galleon Florencia of the Spanish Armada. Said to have contained thirty millions of treasure. Permission to investigate must be obtained from His Grace, the Duke of Argyll. Vigo Bay. Coast of Spain. Spanish plate fleet sunk by the English and Dutch. A trifling matter of a hundred million dollars or more are waiting for the right man to come along and fish them up. Treasure seekers had better first consult the Spanish Government at Madrid in order to avoid misunderstandings with the local officials. East River. Manhattan Island, New York. Wreck of the British frigate Hussar which carried to the bottom, in 1780, more than two and a half mil-lion dollars in gold consigned to the paymasters of the army and naval forces that were fighting the American forces of George Washington. She was sailing for Newport and struck a rock nearly opposite the upper end of Randall's Island, sinking one hundred yards from shore. 0ck Island. Nova Scotia. Near Chester. Unmistakable remains of a deep shaft sunk by pirates and an underground connection with the bay. A company is now digging, and will probably sell shares at a reasonable price. Buying shares in a treasure company is less fatiguing than handling the pick and shovel oneself. Isthmus of Panama. Directions somewhat vague. Sir Francis Drake left part of the loot of old Panama concealed along his line of retreat, but none of his crew was considerate enough to transmit to pos- 424 THE BOOK OF BURIED TREASURE terity a chart marked with the proper crosses and bearings. Dollar Cove. Mount's Bay, Cornwall. Wreck of treasure ship Saint Andrew, belonging to the king of Portugal. Driven out of her course from Flanders to a home port in 1526. An ancient document written by one Thomas Porson, an Englishman on board states that "by the Grace and Mercy of God, the greater part of the crew got safely to land," and that, assisted by some of the inhabitants, they also saved part of the cargo including blocks of silver bullion, silver vessels and plate, precious stones, brooches and chains of gold, cloth of Arras, tapes-try, satins, velvets, and four sets of armor for the king of Portugal. According to Porson, no sooner had these treasures been carried to the top of the cliffs than three local squires with sixty armed retainers attacked the shipwrecked men and carried off the booty. Modern treasure seekers disbelieve this document and prefer the statement of one of the squires concerned, St. Aubyn by name, that they rode to the place to give what help they could, but the cargo of treasure could not be saved. Cape Vidal. Coast of Zululand. Wreck of mysterious sailing vessel Dorothea said to have had a huge fortune in gold bricks cemented under his floor, stolen gold from the mines of the Rand. In 1900, May 21st, an item in the Government Estimates of the Legislative Assembly in the Natal Parliament was discussed under the heading, "Expenditure in connection with buried gold at Cape Vidal, search for discovery, 173 19s. 3d." "Mr. Evans asked if a syndicate had been formed and what expectations the Government had to give. (Hear, hear.) The Prime Minister said there were several syndicates formed to raise the treasure. The government had reason to believe that they knew where the treasure was hidden, and started an expedition on their own account. But unfortunately they had not been able to find the treasure. Mr. Evans : The Government was in for a bad spec. (Laughter.) The item passed." Space is given to the foregoing because it stamps with official authority the story of the treasure of Cape Vidal. When a government goes treasure hunting there must be something in it. Lake Guatavita. Near Bogota. Republic of Colombia. The treasure of El Dorado, the Gilded Man. To find this gold involves driving a tunnel through the side of a mountain and draining the lake. This is such a formidable undertaking that it will not appeal to the average treasure seeker unless, perchance, he might pick up a second hand tunnel somewhere at a bargain price. Even then, transportation from the sea coast to Bogota is so difficult and costly that it would hardly be practicable to saw the tunnel into sections and have it carried over the mountains on mule-back.